NR 10.001(23b)(23b) “Public access lands" for purposes of s. NR 10.104 (8) and (9) means land owned, under easement to, or lease by federal, state, county, or municipal government if that land is open to public hunting. Public access land also includes the following private lands provided they are open to the public for deer hunting:

NR 10.001(23b)(a)(a) Enrolled in the managed forest land or forest croplands program under ch.77, Stats.

NR 10.001(23b)(b)(b) Acquired in whole or in part with funding from the stewardship program pursuant to s. 23.0916, Stats.

NR 10.001(23b)(c)(c) Owned by a public utility or cooperative for the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water, telecommunications service or power.

NR 10.001(23c)(23c) “Rifle" for the purposes of this chapter means a firearm or airgun designed to be fired from the shoulder by the energy of an explosive propellant or by compressed air, used to fire a single projectile for each pull of the trigger through a rifled or smooth barrel. For the purpose of hunting deer, muzzle-loading firearms and shotguns which fire a single projectile are not considered rifles.

NR 10.001(23s)(23s) “Shotgun" means a smoothbore barrelled firearm designed to shoot pellets. Rifled shotgun barrels of at least 18
‶ in length are considered to be shotguns for the purpose of hunting deer or bear if they fire a single projectile and are of the following gauges: 10, 12, 16, 20, 28.

NR 10.001(25)(25) “Sight exposed bait" means any bait which can be seen from above the bait.

NR 10.001(25c)(25c) “Small game" means all varieties of wild mammals and birds for which there is an open season, but does not include deer, moose, elk, bear, wild turkey or endangered, threatened or protected species of game. For the purpose of s. 167.31 (4) (e), Stats., small game does include wild turkeys.

NR 10.001 NoteNote: 167.31 (4) (e) states subsection (2) (d) does not apply to a person who is legally hunting small game with a muzzle-loading firearm or with a shotgun loaded with shotshell or chilled shot number BB or smaller, if the surface of the highway or roadway is anything other than concrete or blacktop.

NR 10.001(25e)(25e) “Snare" means a noose used for catching furbearing animals in a water set.

NR 10.001(25L)(25L) “Submersion set" means any trap set capable of capturing an animal and capable of submersing the captured animal. Slide wires or poles, locking devices, slip chains, weighted traps and traps staked in deep water are commonly used in submersion sets. A body gripping trap is not a submersion set when more than one-half of the set trap is located above water.

NR 10.001(25m)(25m) “Tag authorized for use on the type of deer killed", for purposes of s. 29.347 (2), Stats., means a tag issued to the hunter killing the deer or an individual satisfying the provisions of s. 29.324, Stats., which, based on the approvals of the person tagging the deer, is valid for the type of deer killed.

NR 10.001(26)(26) “Temporary abode" means a transient place of abode or dwelling such as a hunting club, or any clubhouse, cabin, tent, or trailer used as a hunting club, or any hotel, motel or rooming house used during a hunting trip.

NR 10.001(26m)(26m) “Under ice set" means any trap set made under the ice.

NR 10.001(28)(28) “Using firearms"for the purpose of s. 29.324 (1) (b), Stats., means being in possession or control of a separate, individual firearm except that a mentor and the person for whom they are serving as a mentor as required under s. 29.592 (3), Stats., who jointly possess only one firearm, shall each be considered to be using a firearm.

NR 10.01NR 10.01
Open and closed seasons. A closed season is established year-round for each species of wild animal named in this section, except during the specified open season. Seasons open to legal hunting and trapping apply to the entire locality described, except as otherwise provided in chs. NR 11 and 15. Whenever open and closed season areas are defined by highways, the boundary shall be the highway center line. No person may hunt, take, catch, or kill any animal specified in this section except during the specified open season.

NR 10.01(1)(v)(v)Special youth waterfowl hunt event. Persons under the age of 16 may hunt all species of wild duck, mergansers, geese, coots, and moorhens statewide for 2 consecutive days starting on the Saturday before the beginning of the open season established for the north duck zone by par. (b). Approvals under ch. 29, Stats., are not required pursuant to s. 29.197 (1), Stats., except for registration in the harvest information program under s. NR 10.12 (11) and a Canada goose hunting permit for the season or zone where goose hunting, as listed in par. (g) 1., if hunting Canada geese. Daily bag limits are those described under pars. (b), (c) and (g), except that the daily bag limit for the zone or subzone being hunted as listed in par. (g) 1. a. to h., on that date shall apply to Canada geese, and all other waterfowl hunting regulations apply. Hunters shall be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older and be in compliance with ss. 29.592 and 29.593, Stats. One adult may not accompany more than 2 hunters and pursuant to s. 29.592, Stats., not more than one of the 2 hunters may be age 10 or 11, or be a person who does not possess a certificate of accomplishment under s. 29.591, Stats., or its equivalent from another state, country or province.

NR 10.01 NoteNote: The history below shows all changes to s. NR 10.01 published commencing January 1, 2010. For a complete history of s. NR 10.01 from January 2, 1956 through December 31, 2009, see the note following s. NR 10.74.

NR 10.02NR 10.02
Protected wild animals. The following wild animals are designated protected. No person may take, attempt to take, transport or possess any protected wild animal or its carcass at any time unless expressly authorized by the department.

NR 10.02(1)(b)(b) On private land, the landowner, lessee or occupant of the land, or any other person with permission of the landowner, lessee or occupant may shoot and kill any gray wolf or cougar in the act of killing, wounding or biting a domestic animal. Shootings shall be reported within 24 hours to a department conservation warden. The carcass of the wolf or cougar shall be turned over to the department.

NR 10.02(3)(3) Albino and white deer which have a coat of all white hair except that the hair on the tarsal glands, head or parts of the head may be a color other than white. For the purposes of this paragraph, white hair that has been discolored or stained by blood, soil or similar materials shall continue to be considered white hair.

NR 10.02(9)(9) Timber rattlesnake of the species Crotalus horridus, except that a timber rattlesnake may be killed in emergency situations involving an immediate threat to human life or domestic animals. It is requested that each person who kills a rattlesnake under this provision provide to the department no later than 48 hours after the kill, not to include Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, factual information related to the kill including the location, date of the kill and the name and address of the person who killed it.

NR 10.02 NoteNote: Possession of the timber rattlesnake or any part lawfully taken in Wisconsin prior to April 1, 1998, lawfully purchased or lawfully taken outside the state of Wisconsin is not prohibited by this section, but the person possessing it has an obligation under s. 29.971, Stats., to prove such facts.

NR 10.02 NoteNote: The department's conservation program for the timber rattlesnake, under s. 29.039 (1), Stats., includes a department response and assistance element for occupants or owners of land, or other persons, requesting assistance because of the presence of rattlesnakes. In addition, upon complaint, the department may, under s. 29.885, Stats., investigate and authorize removal, relocation or destruction if the species constitutes a nuisance. Requests for assistance, or complaints, should be directed to the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, telephone 1-888-74SNAKE.

NR 10.04 NoteNote: Persons taking unprotected animals must possess a hunting or trapping license and comply with all method of taking requirements of this chapter unless otherwise authorized by the department in writing or exempted under ch. NR 12.

NR 10.05(1)(1)General hunting. No person may hunt within 50 feet of a roadway's center except as provided in s. 167.31, Stats.

NR 10.05 NoteNote: The exceptions provided in s. 167.31 (4) (e), Stats., allow any person who is legally hunting small game with a muzzle-loading firearm or shotgun loaded with shotshells containing shot size BB or smaller, to hunt within 50 feet of the roadway's center, if the roadway is surfaced with anything other than concrete or blacktop. Additionally, Class A and B disabled hunting permit holders may also hunt within 50 feet of certain roadways under conditions listed in s. 167.31 (4) (cg), Stats.

NR 10.05(2)(2)Waterfowl and coot hunting. No person may hunt waterfowl or coot from any public roads or railroads including the respective rights-of-way along or within the area described as the Horicon zone in s. NR 10.31 (3).

NR 10.06(1)(1)General hunting. All shooting hours, when specified in this chapter, mean Central Standard Time, and the daily opening (a.m.) and closing (p.m.) hours listed shall apply to the entire state.

NR 10.06(2)(a)(a)General. Two general shooting hour areas are established as follows: Northern area: all of the following counties and all counties north of them; Pierce, Dunn, Eau Claire, Clark, Marathon, Shawano, Oconto, and Door. Southern area: remainder of state. In addition, the following zones are established across the northern and southern areas:

Zone

A—all that part of the state lying east of 88°-00F longitude.

B—all that part of the state lying between 88°-00F and 89°-00F long.

C—all that part of the state lying between 89°-00F and 90°-00F long.

D—all that part of the state lying between 90°-00F and 91°-00F long.

E—all that part of the state lying between 91°-00F and 92°-00F long.

F—all that part of the state lying west of 92°-00F longitude.

NR 10.06(2)(b)(b)General prohibition. Except as provided in subs. (6) to (9), no person may shoot or shoot at any game species for which an open season is prescribed on any day during the open season before the a.m. times or after the p.m. times established in sub. (5).

NR 10.06(5)(5)Shooting hours. Shooting hours for bear, bow deer, deer with firearms, elk and small game are 30 minutes before sunrise through 20 minutes after sunset. Shooting hours for migratory game birds are 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset except for teal during a season for hunting teal species only. The hours for shooting teal during a teal-only season shall be sunrise through 7:00 p.m. except on the first day when shooting hours begin at 9:00 a.m. All pheasant shooting starts at 9:00 a.m. on the first day of the pheasant hunting season established in s. NR 10.01 (2)(c). The department shall establish the specific opening and closing times annually in the hunting regulations pamphlets. Opening and closing times for zone A southern and northern areas shall be based on astronomical data collected by the U.S. naval observatory, Washington D.C., 20392-5420 for Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Powers, Michigan, respectively. The shooting hours for the other zones shall be obtained by adding minutes to the Zone A a.m. and p.m. columns as follows:
- See PDF for table

NR 10.06(6)(6)Pheasant hunting. Except as provided in this subsection, pheasant shooting hours are those hunting hours established for small game in sub. (5). Pheasant shooting hours shall close at 2:00 p.m. on weekdays within the posted boundaries of the following state wildlife areas beginning the third day of the pheasant hunting season established in s. NR 10.01 (2)(c) and continuing through November 3: